Prompt: My unit plan theme is on perseverance We are reading the book The Land which focuses heavily on setting and geography. I thought that a poem which focuses on setting would be great to go along with this unit as the students think about the setting in the novel and how their lives might connect.
Pre-wrtiting: 1) Think about where you came from? Is there something special about your house, family, grandparents, or where you are from/born? Create a list of specific images. 2) Think about what you wrote down and construct your own Where I'm From poem.
Drafting: 1) Every stanza must begin with "I am from" 2) In the sucessive lines, add in some of the specifc images you brainstormed eariler. Group them together into different stanzas depending on the image (people, food, places, feelings) 3) Your poem has to be at least 12 lines long. 4) Make sure you title your poem (you can make one up or simply use the title of the published poem, I would like for you to be original) and do not forget to put your name on your paper.
Published Poem:
Where I'm From
I am from clothespins,
from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.
I am from the dirt under the back porch.
(Black, glistening,
it tasted like beets.)
I am from the forsythia bush
the Dutch elm
whose long-gone limbs I remember
as if they were my own. I'm from fudge and eyeglasses,
from Imogene and Alafair.
I'm from the know-it-alls
and the pass-it-ons,
from Perk up! and Pipe down!
I'm from He restoreth my soul
with a cottonball lamb
and ten verses I can say myself. I'm from Artemus and Billie's Branch,
fried corn and strong coffee.
From the finger my grandfather lost
to the auger,
the eye my father shut to keep his sight. Under my bed was a dress box
spilling old pictures,
a sift of lost faces
to drift beneath my dreams.
I am from those moments--
snapped before I budded --
leaf-fall from the family tree.
Model Poem:
Where I'm From by Michelle Parker
I am from lazy sundays
late lunches and reading the paper
naps in the recliner
with the cat who sleeps on a snoring dad
I am from southern cooking
corn bread and butter beans
black eyed peas on new years
and wedding cake made with love
I am from moving boxes
christmas parties and easter sundays in air planes
friends who pack up with their families
and parents who are gone to far away places
I am from a family
two loving parents
and two hateful brothers
bonded together as a whole no matter what
My unit plan theme is on perseverance We are reading the book The Land which focuses heavily on setting and geography. I thought that a poem which focuses on setting would be great to go along with this unit as the students think about the setting in the novel and how their lives might connect.
Pre-wrtiting:
1) Think about where you came from? Is there something special about your house, family, grandparents, or where you are from/born? Create a list of specific images.
2) Think about what you wrote down and construct your own Where I'm From poem.
Drafting:
1) Every stanza must begin with "I am from"
2) In the sucessive lines, add in some of the specifc images you brainstormed eariler. Group them together into different stanzas depending on the image (people, food, places, feelings)
3) Your poem has to be at least 12 lines long.
4) Make sure you title your poem (you can make one up or simply use the title of the published poem, I would like for you to be original) and do not forget to put your name on your paper.
Published Poem:
Where I'm From
I am from clothespins,from Clorox and carbon-tetrachloride.
I am from the dirt under the back porch.
(Black, glistening,
it tasted like beets.)
I am from the forsythia bush
the Dutch elm
whose long-gone limbs I remember
as if they were my own.
I'm from fudge and eyeglasses,
from Imogene and Alafair.
I'm from the know-it-alls
and the pass-it-ons,
from Perk up! and Pipe down!
I'm from He restoreth my soul
with a cottonball lamb
and ten verses I can say myself.
I'm from Artemus and Billie's Branch,
fried corn and strong coffee.
From the finger my grandfather lost
to the auger,
the eye my father shut to keep his sight.
Under my bed was a dress box
spilling old pictures,
a sift of lost faces
to drift beneath my dreams.
I am from those moments--
snapped before I budded --
leaf-fall from the family tree.
Model Poem:
Where I'm From by Michelle Parker
I am from lazy sundays
late lunches and reading the paper
naps in the recliner
with the cat who sleeps on a snoring dad
I am from southern cooking
corn bread and butter beans
black eyed peas on new years
and wedding cake made with love
I am from moving boxes
christmas parties and easter sundays in air planes
friends who pack up with their families
and parents who are gone to far away places
I am from a family
two loving parents
and two hateful brothers
bonded together as a whole no matter what